Mirth and Mystery

Many moons ago, at my first real job, a colleague was reading Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, one of my favorite novels. My friend, like me a newly minted English major, saw parallels between the heroine's struggle to secure a place in society and our own efforts to make it as entry-level drones at a publishing company.

One day she left a note on my desk. While I don't think of myself as a pack rat, I've kept it all this time even though I lost touch with her years ago.

Michael --

Just a few quotes to help you keep everything in proper perspective.

"The truth was that her funds, as usual, were inconveniently low; and to neither Dorset nor his wife could this vulgar embarrassment be safely hinted."

"She had been brought up in the faith that whatever it cost, one must have a good cook and be what Mrs. Bart called decently dressed."

"Mrs. Bart's worst reproach to her husband was to ask him if he expected her to 'live like a pig'; and his replying in the negative was always regarded as a justification for cabling to Paris for an extra dress or two...."

-- The House of Mirth

Alas, there was no French couture in my life then or now, much less a cook.

A couple of summers ago, I was thrilled to visit The Mount, Wharton's estate in the Berkshires. What sparked this little reverie, though, was a fascinating article sent the other day by another Wharton-admiring friend. Check it out.